Archive of Posts from August 2001

August 31st, 2001

Woohoo, Labor Day Weekend! While we don't have political parades and carry signs that say "Labor Creates All Wealth" anymore, this vacation isn't just signaling the end of summer. Check out the origins of the holiday. It's a good reminder of some courageous Americans who had to fight to change their (and our) lives. Here are some great labor related quotes.

August 29th, 2001

Apparently, this economic slowdown (don't use the R word yet) isn't affecting everyone. I was stunned by this article (free registration required) from the Chicago Tribune: "Some of the CEOs getting the biggest raises were also the ones laying off the most workers, the report said. These included Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who earned $72.8 million in 2000 while laying off 4,000 workers..." The headline states that CEOs make 531 times that of factory workers. It shows what kind of companies they are when they cut jobs to keep their outrageous executive salaries.

August 28th, 2001

August 26th, 2001

I'm reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol. I must have read it hudreds of times when I was a kid. It was my favorite book. It's odd to read those lines now as an adult and remember them in their muchness. It's like going from big to small and back again. It's all about as curious as it can be.

August 23rd, 2001

As meg noted on her site, Blogger is two years old today. I'm happy this application that I helped create and poured my heart into for so long is around helping people communicate. Sometimes I wish I could still be shaping its development. But I can only imagine how bad the terrible twos will be. ;)

August 22nd, 2001

If you or someone you love lives with repetitive strain injuries, then you know how very real and painful it is. It disturbs me that Bush's appointment to head up the Labor Department is so callous on this topic. Son of Antonin Scalia, Eugene Scalia (nepotism, anyone?), has called RSI "junk science," "quackery," and "strange." Before heading up the Labor Department, little Scalia represented management in anti-ergonomics cases. [via sotd]

Ergonomics programs reduce health care costs. And they aren't expensive to implement compared with the costs of treating injuries. But that would mean less money for the health care industry. (Not to mention happier, healthier, more productive employees.) A proposed OSHA ergonomics standard for computer workers was recently defeated in Washington. What now? OSHA ergonomics architect David Cochran (from my alma mater) speculates in the SF Bay Guardian. With this appointment, it doesn't look good for workers. Heartless.

August 20th, 2001

I picked up Yosemite Place Names in a used bookstore this weekend. Found this great quote from Ansel Adams inside:

Our time is short, and the future is terrifyingly long...With reverence for life, and with restraint enough to leave some things as they are, we can continue approaching, and perhaps can attain, a new society at last -- one which is proportionate to nature.

skp and I spent the weekend in San Francisco. We saw the Ansel Adams exhibit at the sfmoma, then caught the Giants in the bottom of the sixth through the fence. (But we missed Barry Bonds smacking one into McCovey Cove by just a few minutes!) We also lounged around Yerba Buena Gardens in the sun a little longer than we should have.

August 16th, 2001

You find the coolest stuff tucked away in books. I do, anyway. Sorting through some old paperbacks today, I found a syllabus for English 206A (Science Fiction). The titles we read (as typed on the paper):

Verne, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea

Wells, The Time Machine

Wells, War of the Worlds

Asimov, I, Robot

Heinlein, Have Spacesuit -- Will Travel

Clarke, Childhood's End

Dick, Blade Runner

LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness

Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Ballard, The Drowned World

Lem, Solaris

I had the two exam dates highlighted. I'm not sure that helped. Apparently we began with a discussion of popular literature and how it differs from mimetic (?) literature. I'm surprised I had a highlighter.

August 15th, 2001

It looks like the server siege (and my 1,440 minutes of msn fame) is over. The flood of visitors was fun and I got a couple of nice emails. And I owe my (hopefully, still) friend Nate a big thanks for hosting this site. Onfocus ate most of his bandwidth for about 24 hours, and caused various headaches. I think we're back to normal now. (Just you here, right mom?)

August 14th, 2001

Just when I take a break from updating, I have a bunch of new visitors. Isn't that the way? Your friends always drop by when your house is a mess. I'm a "daily diversion" on msn.com. Hi everyone! (Sorry about the delays in loading the site...the traffic is a bit heavier than normal.)

August 8th, 2001

This book I'm reading (look to the left) is fascinating. It's not exactly revisionist history, but it has definitely changed my perceptions about American history. For example, last night I was reading about the American Lone Wolf archetype. While history celebrates individuals for blazing new trails, it is often groups of people who make significant contributions. Columbus, Fremont, Lewis & Clark, and many other singular trailblazers had a unique talent for gathering and motivating large groups of people for a single purpose. They didn't (and couldn't) do it alone. This might seem obvious, but you always hear about Columbus sailing to the new world. Or Fremont crossing the rocky mountains. What about the hundred other people with them making sure they succeeded? Even the "mountain men" fur trappers like Daniel Boone would finish their careers as congressmen or governors because the social and organizational skills required for a successful expedition made the frontier a perfect political training ground.

August 2nd, 2001

August 1st, 2001

Last Stop, Rocky Mountains

After several days in the desert, Rocky Mt. National Park felt like it was teeming with life. In one day we went from extreme heat to the frozen tundra above the tree line. Around every turn was a breathtaking view.

The park was very crowded, but this is the peak time. I'd like to go back in winter to see a different season. I'm guessing I won't be able to get to the higher elevations at that time, though.